She Walked Out, and Ten Years Later She Showed Up With Expensive Gifts at a Twelfth Birthday Dinner

I got to my feet and looked around the room, taking in every shelf, cabinet, and tool rack.

In the far corner stood the old oak cabinet I had restored three winters before, its dark wood gleaming under the fluorescent lights.

I went over and pulled out the top drawer, which held sheets of sandpaper bundled with rubber bands.

In the second drawer were my spare router bits and two iron corner clamps.

I reached for the bottom drawer, which always caught on its lower wooden runner.

I yanked hard on the brass handle, and the drawer slid out with a loud scrape against the frame.